Guide for Rating Candidates

By now you have screened out the candidates who did not meet the basic requirements for the position and have interviewed the most likely applicants.

In order to objectively choose the best match for your company, you can refer to the notes made during the interview process to compare the persons interviewed.

From the interview you were able to gain information on a number of points:

Overall impression: How the person handled himself or herself.

Future plans and goals: Persons who have goals or ambitions for the job are usually higher performers than those without goals or ambitions.

Communication: If it is difficult to communicate with the person in an interview, he or she will likely have difficulty working with others or communicating with customers.

Attitude/confidence/motivation: If the attitude is slack, the work will suffer too. A person without confidence will likely need more coaching and direction.

Candidate suitability: Each company has certain ways of working together and new persons coming into the company need to fit into that culture of work or productivity will be disrupted.

Willingness to contribute, dedication level: A good work ethic goes a long way.

Names and contact information for references.

Initiative: A person with low levels of initiative will need more direction and guidance.

How to Use the Guide for Rating Candidates

The following rating form can assist you in comparing the persons you interviewed. Assign a value to each of the skills listed on your candidate evaluation form, for example, if each skill is of equal importance you would assign equal values to them or if some skills are more important to the job than others, you would give them different total values, as seen below. A person who meets and exceeds your requirements in a particular skill would get full points, whereas a person who falls short would score less than that. The persons with the highest total scores should be your top candidates.

Job Aids

The following job aids can help you in your search for the best candidate.